The case for authentic Apple cables

When the new lighting connector was announced the internet was awash with rumblings of Apple’s conspiracy to squeeze more money out of their consumers. Indeed the new authentication chip appeared to be something to that effect. There are many cheap reproductions available online, especially at first, most of which iOS 7 would warn you about. These have proven in my experience to be low quality, breaking within a couple of weeks of purchase. Subsequently Apple started a “certified” program with the big names getting on board (Belkin and the like). These accessories have also proven to break down in my use, with loose connections.

The bottom line is that, as usual, apple makes the best items in this arena (Period)

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iCloud Restore Freeze Fix

Nothing installing... just "waiting" in place

Encountered the “Music Not Working” bug in iOS 5 Beta 7 after installing as an update over-the-air (OTA). The iPod app would start skipping songs like they were lost, usually they appear greyed out but not now. They act like lost files without a promo, skipping to the next song. A day late i found this fix.

So I tried to restore from iCloud backup (this is the only way i know) ‘erase all content and settings’ and restore from iCloud on reboot. I started using the iCloud backup with Beta 5. It restored settings, then the apps started downloading, got about half way then froze mid install on the ‘weber grill’ app, after a couple hours and wifi network change it reverted to “waiting”. About half my apps had installed and the rest were just ‘waiting’. iCloud settings said it was still restoring but waiting most of the day nothing else came down, “just waiting”.

I tried:

  • Installing an update, the app to update turned grey (pending new icon) and just hung there.
  • I tried downloading a new app, that hung too.
  • I tried deleting the an app in waiting, as if some sort of roadblock. System hung, borked restart screen. Soft reset fixed it back to half apps “waiting”.

Tonight I’d had enough: I backed up my new photos, then I stopped the restore from iCloud. Everything stayed the way it was, still “waiting”. Then I turned off iCloud backup, did a quick iTunes backup (just in case), and then a full sync with iTunes. Took a bit but it picked up installing the ‘waiting’ apps, and now I’m back up and running. Just need to sit through a full iTunes music sync, maybe it will work right and do it via wifi tonight while charging, we’ll see.

Love iCloud backup, but might wait until they have it live (and I have more storage being a legacy MobileMe user).

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Apple is Astonishing. Haters are Jealous.

source: cnet.com

source: cnet.com

Recently Apple, as with every new game changing product announcement, has come under fire from a number of media outlets. It seems there are as many people out there that want to hate them for their success, as those who will inherently love them for the new innovative products they create. I would like to state that I’m in the later group and am less critical and skeptical than I probably should be. I switched 3 years ago after a boss made me use a Mac, after 20 years of being a hardcore PC guy and hating the idea, I was sold in less than a month. I digress.

The point of this rant is that Steve Job’s incredible stage presence has garnered it’s own place in tech lexicon; his “reality distortion field”. While negative, that’s pretty badass. He’s just that charismatic and real that you just can’t help but watch in awe. This year he walked on stage to a standing ovation where someone yelled “Steve we love you!” to which he replied “Thanks! I think?”. In the history of me being a self proclaimed computer geek, I’d never once heard or wanted to follow a big company announcement on a live blog. Apple fans have been doing this for longer than the term blog has existed; there is absolutely a reason.

This year’s Apple’s World Wide Developers Conference 2010 (WWDC) was about iPhone 4, their new tagline “This changes everything. Again.” Brilliant! Many in the media are quick to point out that many of the features/enhancements in the next iteration of iPhone have been done before or are underwhelming, most like to state the year and which device had achieved such a feat. Sure, this one phone, this way past year had video conferencing and this other phone, this more recent year, had video recording capability.

No other phone in the history of phones, be they smart or other, has ever had this combined set of features. More importantly, no other phone in history has ever done this many things so damn well.

For example, Steve Jobs stated in his keynote that the new “retina display” is 4 times as dense in pixels (pixels per inch or ppi) as the current iPhone screen and beyond the human retina’s capacity to distinguish pixels (eye = 300ppi : iPhone 4 326ppi). Gizmodo put this criticism out quoting “president of DisplayMate, which is known for its analysis of screens”, he states that Jobs’ claims are far fetched and that the real resolution for the eye’s ability to distinguish pixels is based on the viewing distance of said screen. Specifically that the iPhone 4 would need to be viewed from 18″ from the retina for their claim to valid and went on to declare the normal viewing distance of a phone to be 12″. I’ve tested this (very scientifically and extensively in the last couple minutes) and my average viewing distance is around 17-19″.

source: apple.com

The new, FaceTime standard they’ve come up with for video calls is awesome for a number of reasons. It’s open and they’re doing their best to make it a new standard. Think back to the old days of cell phones, you could send a “text” to people on the same network as you only, until SMS emerged as the standard. Now you can text anyone on any device. Standards are good. The demo was impressive, far better than anything else i’ve seen before on cellphone or for that matter a video chat.

source: apple.com

Apple continues to climb on the awesomeness chart because they (Steve Jobs in particular) continues to challenge the company to do one thing: Put out compelling and innovative products. It’s that moto and focus that make the iPod, iPhone and now iPad such a success. By the way, their computers are pretty sweet too. They only do it if they can do it right. It’s expensive because they don’t half ass things at the expense of user experience period

But that’s fine, you want to complain about the iPhone’s lack of Flash then go buy a Droid. Have fun with a crappy user experience when you do get to use flash on websites. Steve Jobs says, “I told you so.”

Note: Gizmodo is one of my favorite blogs (since years before the recent leaked iPhone 4 prototype story). If you’re waiting in line June 24th in King of Prussia, PA I’ll see you there… Who am I kidding, there are only a hand full of people (my immediate family) that actually read this blog. None the less, I’ll be there every bit as excited as my first iPhone (3G) that I waited in line for.

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I Miss my iPhone!

As a registered developer, I’m happy to preview the new OS, Indeed updates are welcome. However the, my bad, change in Beta 2 has left me stuck… I know that I just need to read more, setup some certs and be back in biz, but for the moment my phone is locked and I can’t do anything with it.

This is looking like a long night… While i sit, research, and try the next thing: I’m reminded of what life was like before my iPhone, or everything device conveniently located in my pocket.

Holly crap what did I do without it!

I’m on my laptop researching and downloading more software to get things back in order, it’s taking a while so I got to thinking: what’s the weather for tomorrow? Oh crap no iPhone. I should kill some time while waiting for this large file to download and ah…. Oh crap no iPhone. Wait I can just play Sudoku for a bit. Oh crap no iPhone. Maybe I’ll just check to see how the Flyers faired tonight (I know they won) Oh crap no iPhone., I realize how much I’ve come to depend on it in every way.

Then I think: What the hell did I do when I was waiting in line for the iPhone 3G (my first)?? Oh yeah I talked to people, wanted to know a bunch of stuff I couldn’t get to with my RAZR and send some picture messages to my Brother on his happy way to vacation. Life has changed in every way since then, I use this “phone” for everything.

Not that i’m socially stunted, or becoming so. But rather I’ve gotten used to having any and every bit of information available to me if needed. As with most game changing technology, it’s tough to go back. How did we do that before?

While the thought of rearranging my 80+ apps and making sure I have my pictures and music is a bit annoying: it’s nothing compared to coping with not having calendar alerts, phone numbers, my todo list, my grocery list, and just about everything else I need to know on the move.

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iPhone Cases: Sleek & Minimal

As far as iPhone cases go: I like them to not add bulk and just protect from scratches. Specifically I like them to protect the phone back from getting scratched when put on a table, desk, or else. The beauty of the iPhone is it’s sleek design, adding a clunky case negates that. The other thing I like in a case is some grip (not as much grip as a silicone skin, too difficult to get out of your pocket when driving) but enough grip to keep it from sliding off your leg if balanced on your leg while driving. I’ve found 2 that are winners in that fashion.

moshi_lgMoshi iGlaze 3G:

Recommended by a friend this case is by far the best. All important buttons are easy to access especially the ring/silent toggle. It’s slim and doesn’t add any bulk to your phone. There is a cutout to show the apple logo: I know it’s brandishly ridiculous but that in my opinion is part of the beauty of the phone. The Moshi case includes both a screen protector, and little circle to protect the apple logo. It’s grippy, but not too grippy. This case is the best so far by my criteria (see above). It’s also only just over $20. Making it a clear winner.

Power Support Air Jacket:

The black case was my fav for the last year+. Recently got a clear one and it’s great, but it doesn’t have the slight grippy feel of the black jacket and is a bit slippery. The Black case was good but not totally what I wanted. I scratched the covering off my black case to reveal the apple logo, worked ok, but it was a bit barbaric. As stated above I know it’s ridiculous, but part of the beauty of the phone (see above). My only complaint was that the case did make toggling the ring/silent switch a bit difficult. Everything else was great. These cases are around $35.

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